HTC will 'fly high' in 2013: chairman Wang

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- High Tech Computer (HTC) will climb to another peak this year, its chairwoman, Cher Wang, told about 10,000 employees, who were also shown the vendor's soon-to-be released M7 smartphone during their year-end "Weiya" feast in Taipei on Friday.

The feast at the Nangang Exhibition Center featured performances by many famous singers, including LeeHom Wang, who played with a red HTC Butterfly — the vendor's currently hot-selling smartphone model — as he sang along.

But the much-anticipated M7 also made its "unofficial" debut at the feast, as HTC CEO Peter Chou displayed the new phone, doing tests and using it to take pictures of the celebrating employees.

Wang said that she feels "deeply moved" whenever she sees an HTC product, because it is the fruit of the hard work of its employees.

She vowed that the company will "fly high" like a kite "against the wind." She said she is confident that the company will reach another peak this year.

She revealed that the M7 will make its formal debut in February. The Central News Agency said the M7 — HTC's next major device aimed at helping it recover lost ground from Apple's iPhone and Samsung Electronics' Galaxy series — will be unveiled in London and New York on Feb. 19.

The M7 comes with a 4.7-inch screen that supports full HD resolution and touch functions. It has three color versions — black, silver and white — as revealed at the feast.

HTC rose fast two years ago to become one of the major players in the global smartphone market, with its revenues soaring 80 percent annually in 2011. But it struggled last year in the face of strong competition from Apple and Samsung amid a weak global economy.

Chou said the company learned much last year and has also made many changes to meet the challenges.

While its employees received prizes totaling more than NT$70 million at the last Weiya in early 2012, the feast last night gave out more than 2,000 Butterfly smartphones and other prizes totaling NT$36 million, CNA reported.